Sensible Limits On Restraining Or Isolating Disruptive Students

Yes, restrain or seclude disruptive children, but only when necessary.

Out-of-control students in public schools are a problem in Connecticut — and not a little one. During the last school year, there were more than 35,000 incidents statewide in which students had to be physically restrained or put into seclusion.

A bill passed Wednesday by the state Senate limits the time a student may be restrained or secluded to no more than 15 minutes or, for those 14 and younger, one minute per age of the child. The limit is phrased as a strong recommendation, not a mandate, which is wise. Setting an absolute 15-minute limit doesn't take into account individual cases of misbehavior.

During the last school year, 75 percent of the seclusions and 91 percent of restraints lasted less than 20 minutes. Three percent of seclusions and 1 percent of restraints lasted more than an hour.

Reinforcing the 15-minute time frame may lead educators to work harder to use the minimum.

The bill also emphasizes another aspect of dealing with disruptive students. State law already says that students should not be physically restrained or secluded except in emergencies, when the children might hurt themselves or others.

But according to the state Office of the Child Advocate, sometimes children have been secluded as a punishment — for example, for refusing to do some assigned work, or for disruptive, but not dangerous, behavior.

That's not helpful, and should be stopped.

Parents must be notified within 24 hours if their child has been physically restrained and/or secluded. That doesn't always happen now. It should.

According to a 2014 state report, many disruptive students have autism, emotional disturbances or health issues such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For educators, balancing the needs of such children and their non-disabled peers is a challenge.

All students deserve classrooms as free from disruption as possible. Restraining or secluding is sometimes the best way to achieve that end — but in doing so, educators must follow all relevant state laws.